Lizard in June

perkeleellinen · May 21, 2013

Hello All,

We're camping at the Lizard in June. It'll rain every day, I know it. But just in case the Gods are in a good mood....

Here's a map showing the sun rise / set positions:

Is anyone familiar with the west coast of the Lizard? It seems that the sun will be low over the sea and from a good position I may be able to get a sort of golden cliffs photo. Also interesting rocks out at sea may make nice silhouettes. Where's good along that coast line?

I'll be there for mid summer so a sun rise that morning would be great. I think it might be possible to get an angle out to sea from down near Ruan Minor. Anyone been there?

Thanks,
Steve.

pdeeh · May 21, 2013

There's almost nowhere that isn't good !

However the areas North and South of Kynance Cove are particularly splendid.

One thing to bear in mind is that the zawns and valleys are very steep sided, and rapidly fall into shadow once the sun starts to dip.

The coast at Ruan is also splendid, but I don't have any particular recommendations.

The Cornish coast as a whole is "very fractal" - this has the effect of making small changes of position have a large effect on the views

I envy you your trip. It should still be pretty quiet in June, and I hope the weather is good for you. The Lizard is a wonder of a place.

Jim Taylor · May 21, 2013

I agree with all of the above. My favourites are: -

Mullion Cove and Harbour.
The church on the beach at Church Cove.
The disused and derelict quarry/quay at Porthkerris.
The old lifeboat station at Lizard Point.

I tend to develop a bit of a sunrise/set fetish when I'm camping down there! The number of this type of shot I have from Land's End - Penzance - Ruan Minor is countless!

Mullion is particularly nice if the weather is bad - you can get quite close to the cliffs with some very 'bashy' seas.

It's just a beautiful area of the world! Very envious! Enjoy!

Martin Aislabie · May 21, 2013

I agree with all the above and add

Porthlevel + coastal path - both North and South
The costal path south of Mullion Cove
Coverack
The Helford River and all its tidal inlets

Your problem assuming the weather gods are smilling is not what to shoot but what to leave out - its a great place to be

Have fun

Martin

paul_c5x4 · May 21, 2013

Rain will keep most of the tourists away, strong winds will produce plenty of dramatic surf & breaking waves. Clearing storms in the afternoon will give you scope for lots of shots. If you're heading down there at the end of June, you'll also get a full moon on the 23rd so you can try your hand at night time shots.

Me, I'm heading up to the Lake District in two weeks time in the vain hope that it doesn't rain.

cliveh · May 21, 2013

I hope you have a beautiful time and beautiful weather. But while you are there the following is one of the best places to eat: -

http://www.halzephron-inn.co.uk/

perkeleellinen · May 21, 2013

Thanks for all the great tips.

The Inn looks great and I'm happy we'll be there for the full moon. I agree with Martin that the issue is what to leave out, I prefer to focus on a few areas of interest rather than a scatter gun approach - there's always next year. We're lucky that our boy isn't in school yet so we can get away outside of school holidays. This is really a family trip not a photo trip but my wife likes these areas and she's fond of the idea of a picnic on the cliffs as the sun goes down (let's hope she can set up next to my tripod!).

Are there any Neolithic remains close by?

pdeeh · May 21, 2013

The Lizard isn't particularly rich in obviously Neolithic stuff, but head into West Penwith and you'll trip over dozens of site ... Men-an-Tol, Lanyon Quoit, the Merry Maidens, Nine Maidens, Chun Castle to name but a few.

Steve Roberts · May 22, 2013

Suggest you Google Trewavas Head for some spectacular clifftop mining remains. If you like that kind of thing, be sure to visit Botallack/Pendeen near St Just (where I enjoyed a very sunny day last weekend!)
Steve

Jim Taylor · May 22, 2013

cliveh said:
I hope you have a beautiful time and beautiful weather. But while you are there the following is one of the best places to eat: -

http://www.halzephron-inn.co.uk/

I'll second that! Gunwalloe is quite pretty too... maybe beer goggles though

All these plans of travel make me very envious when I'm stuck inside the lab/office all day!!

pentaxuser · May 22, 2013

For goodness sake, take "survival gear" especially thermal blankets as given the current temperature and the weather forecast we may be in for the coldest June on record

pentaxuser (writing this in pencil as the ink in the pen has frozen and now expecting a three-dog-night as the Alaskans say )

perkeleellinen · May 24, 2013

Whitsun used to be a fairly good guarantee of warmth if not sun...

Back in the late '70s and for ten years we took our annual family holiday to Cornwall, always staying in Newquay at the Cotswold Hotel. My parents and grandparents had got into the habit in the late '60s (4 adults and luggage in a Mini overnight from the Midlands!). We always had sun or so my memory goes. Last few times I've been down it's been appalling. Last year we had to buy jumpers in August.

pentaxuser · May 24, 2013

We live in a strange climate. In 2008 in the second week in May we were eating outside in Cornwall at 7:30pm in short sleeves. Today in the South Midlands it was 7 degrees centigrade in the middle of the afternoon!!! There were days in January that matched this temperature

I am sure it will pick up for you but I'd certainly take a water and wind proof anorak. There is nothing worse than being soaked through and cold even if you have the best landscape in the world in front of you

pentaxuser

perkeleellinen · May 25, 2013

We will take our winter stuff, changing clothes is easy, changing film not so. I invariably have 100ASA film loaded on the darkest, most overcast days.

perkeleellinen · Jun 26, 2013

Well, the Gods were smiling and we had some great sunny days. Rain was mostly over two (very) stormy nights. We visited a lot of places: Mullion, Kynance and Church cove (both of them), Lizard point and a couple of little places around Penzance. The biggest problem was the wind, it was very strong and I really didn't feel very safe on the cliff edges, very blustery and sudden gusts. It was worse at Mullion where I didn't even try a cliff-top shot of the harbour. We drove past the Halzephron on the way to Church Cove and I thought I recognise that name from somewhere - only when I came back to this thread did I remember why! The best light was at Church Cove too. I shot 4 rolls of film.

cliveh · Jun 26, 2013

perkeleellinen said:
We drove past the Halzephron on the way to Church Cove and I thought I recognise that name from somewhere - only when I came back to this thread did I remember why!

You should of eaten there, as you missed a great gourmet experience.

Jim Taylor · Jun 26, 2013

Steve,

Sounds like you've experienced Cornwall at it's finest! I find that extreme weather more than "just OK" weather really lends something a bit special to the scenery down there. Then again, I do have a penchant for the dramatic!

Would be great to see some of your work when you've finished processing and tinkering!

Totally agree with cliveh too - you missed a cracker at the Halzephron!

perkeleellinen · Jun 27, 2013

There's always next time for the Halzephron - we drove past at 8am on the way to Church Cove on a Sunday so it wasn't open. But we had fantastic light at Church Cove that made the crashing waves glow and behind them dark brooding clouds. Apart from one guy fishing on the beach we had the place to ourselves.

pdeeh · Jun 27, 2013

the church in the dunes is rather photogenic. there's a particularly curious statue near the eastern side of the churchyard

Lizard in June

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